Atiku Abubakar
This past week marked a turning point in the nation’s political
history. It was Atiku and all the news around his much-anticipated
victory at the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
which ended on Sunday in Port Harcourt.
It is also the week that the governing All Progressives Congress
(APC) affirmed President Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate for the 2019
presidential election.
As it is with any major happening in the nation’s political
firmament, Atiku’s victory is the trending story on the internet since
the midday of Sunday. His landslide victory has got everyone talking.
The focus of this piece is therefore on why he is Nigeria’s next
president.
BUHARI’S DISMAL PERFORMANCE
It is no longer news that President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval
rating has taken a plunge in the last three years that he has been in
office, which informs the belief by political pundits that a run against
the president in 2019 posses no political risk.
Indeed NOI Polls, the No 1 country-specific polling services for
Nigeria has returned a damning verdict on President Buhari’s
stewardship, with the results of its poll showing that over the last
three years the President’s job performance rating has taken a downward
turn for the worse, plummeting from his highest rating of 78 percent and
80 percent recorded in September and October 2015, to 37 percent
recorded in August 2016 and more recently 38 percent and 39 percent in
the months of February and April 2018 respectively.
In more specific terms, the average approval rating of the
president in 2018 stands below average at 39.6 percent; with his latest
rating of May 2018 at 41 percent. He did poorly in all areas of
assessment. So if 2018 holds the truth for 2019, a well-grounded
candidate like former Vice President Atiku can confront the president
with the possibility of an excellent electoral show.
ATIKU’S INTIMIDATING TRACK RECORD
There is no gainsaying the fact that Atiku Abubakar has been the
most prepared Nigerian to steer the ship of state in the last decade.
However, he hasn’t been able to actualise his ambition because of the
disposition of some detractors who feel threatened by the rich
credentials that he brings to the table.
But this is understandable because politics taint noble people. So
it is with Atiku. After impacting our national life for four solid
decades, his impeccable record speaks volume about his public
spiritedness and his support for worthy causes. At an age when many
still prattled and sought relevance, Atiku bestrode Nigeria like a
quintessential colossus, dishing out goodwill, service, and altruism.
These are undeniable.
From his days as a top Customs Man, through his attempt to fly the
flag of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Atiku has gone
through the drudgery of grassroots politics to etch his name as
Governor-Elect of Adamawa State in 1999. His crowning glory is as Vice
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007. The
question remains if he was not good, how has he been able to stamp a
seal of excellence everywhere he went all these years?
There is no lying that Atiku’s role as Vice President under
President Olusegun Obasanjo has become a reference point on how deputies
can be loyal yet effective. Except for cynics, Atiku’s intellect and
contributions to the current debate for restructuring and fiscal
federalism are incontrovertible.
Furthermore, governance is not about making pretence to integrity
or about some shadowy fight against graft. It has little to do with age.
It has more to do with competence, sensitivity, and responsiveness to
the plights of the governed. In and out of public offices, the Wazirin
Adamawa exemplifies excellence. His mission, as contained in his
acceptance speech in Port Harcourt has a huge trunk to do with making
Nigeria a better place for all.
The emergence of Atiku as the presidential candidate of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was no happenstance. It is consistent
with the resolve of members of the party to raise the bar in public
service and put Nigeria back on the part of sustainable growth and
development.
RESTRUCTURING AND FISCAL FEDERALISM
About two years after his tough lecture on the state of the nation,
tongues are still wagging. Many Nigerians believe that his standpoint
on the vexed issues on restructuring and fiscal federalism is a timely
wake-up call, and will form a major part of the issues that will shape
campaigns for the nation ’s most coveted political position in 2019.
Being that a man of Atiku’s standing was the one canvassing for
‘resource control’ made a lot of difference within the context of power
alignments.
He has consistently argued that Nigeria as currently constituted as
an entity is rooted in corruption, impunity, and injustice and thus
must be reconstituted.
According to him, political and civic leaders from across the
country must come together, discuss, negotiate and make the necessary
compromises and sacrifices needed to restructure our federation to make
the nation a stronger, more united, productive, and competitive country.
He contends that there is a flaw in the country’s constitution
which was why there is a recurring cry of marginalization from every
section of the country. Atiku believes that no part of Nigeria can claim
correctly that its people are better served by the current structure of
our federation.
He has since challenged those who against restructuring the
country’s federal system as it currently stands, to show an example of
countries that are functioning well with a structure such as Nigeria.
Whatever one’s arguments are, the restructuring will shape the way
Nigerians will vote during Nigeria’s next presidential election.
A ROBUST MANIFESTO
Atiku Abubakar’s blueprint for Nigeria is by far his most potent
weapon. The rich manifesto addresses all the challenges currently
confronting the country. From defence and security, through job
creation, education and infrastructure to poverty alleviation and power,
no document from any presidential candidate in the history of Nigeria
come close to Atiku’s manifesto regarding concept, content, and
creativity.
To convince Nigerians he has the vision and the preparation to
change the nearly hopeless situation and offer a better deal, Atiku has
articulated an ambitious manifesto, arguably one of the most elaborate
in Nigeria’s political history.
The same edge is seen on the social media where the Wazirin Adamawa
is a household name. The import of this is that VP Atiku is by far more
popular and more acceptable to the people than any politician seeking
to be president in 2019.
TRANSITORY MEMORY OF NIGERIAN VOTERS
Nigerians have a short fuse when it comes to showing understanding
with leaders, especially when such leaders are not delivering on
electoral promises. I recall how in 2011 former President Goodluck
Jonathan was the darling of Nigerians across the ethnic and religious
divide.
He won the 2011 elections with several millions of votes ahead of
General Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare.
By 2015, this same Jonathan lost to Buhari and left the scene with
so much hatred from the voting public. Buhari who had been rejected at
the polls three consecutive times was elected. A Buhari who had been
roundly disdained as a bigot, a religious extremist, and an unsellable
candidate became the toast of Nigerian voters.
This time round, history is about to repeat itself with an Atiku victory at the general election in February.
Shaibu, a public communication consultant, writes from Abuja